Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Why Brandon Jennings Is a Better Option Than Trey Burke

Jason Smith should be playing over Ian Mahinmi and there’s only one reason he isn’t: Smith gets paid less (about $50 million less, to be exact).

The Washington Wizards wanted Mahinmi to be a defensive game changer – someone who can relieve Marcin Gortat and intimidate the opposition with shot blocking, and just his overall presence inside.

But he’s not the player the Wizards thought he was.

For most of his career, with the exception of last season in Indiana, Mahinmi has been relatively underwhelming. He has the size, but he doesn’t have the leaping ability. He’s not Bismack Biyombo. He has the strength, but doesn’t have the quickness nor touch. He’s not Dwight Howard or Hassan Whiteside.

Mahinmi has some of the physical tools, but he’s big, clunky and lacks natural skill. You can’t teach a 30-year-old how to hit free throws. He’s not fast enough and doesn’t have the size to run the pick-and-roll effectively, either. He’s kind of just there.

Smith, arguably, has been a better defender than Mahinmi. He’s also hitting 54 percent of his shots and 48 percent of his attempts from three. Mahinmi can’t make a shot outside of the paint.

Smith’s ability to space the floor is important and he’s been the most productive bench player the Washington Wizards have. And now he’s not in the rotation, simply because he’s getting paid less than Mahinmi.

The investment was a bad one. The Wizards need to play their best players. All of the evidence points towards Smith being better than Mahinmi.